The "Big" Commencement

Dear Readers,

Are you a recent high school graduate? Will you be graduating this year with class of '06? If so, then I must address a very important topic relating to graduation and commencement. During the time of commencement, what should be a time for expansive independence is often mistaken to be a time of reinforced discipline before college. For example, parents tend to grow really serious and involved around graduation. And they begin to worry about their graduating sons and daughters. And in worrying, they begin to strictly reinforce all of the principles that they have taught their child through the years, almost to the point of treating him like a kid and not a young adult. Now, I'm not ragging on a final cumulative review in order to prepare graduating teens for real-life tests and examinations in college. It just seems that this prolonged review is a bit excessive. Commencement is a time for beginning, a time for the sons and daughters to gain independence and make their own choices. Parental guidance is all good and dandy, so agrees the V-chip and the movie ratings, hence PG. Yet, there comes a time in a teens life when he or she must become less attatched to the parents. It would only be with sound reason that this time takes place over that first summer when the teen has just graduated high school and is working. However, in many cases, this time doesn't begin until the teen is away at college during the first semester. The adjustment to living away from the parent is difficult for the teen, and is one of the reasons for such high failure rates for freshman students. That is why this process of adjustment should begin in the summer, so that the teen will have more time to gradually grow more independent. So to all of you graduating teens, begin the process now, or at least before the end of summer. And to you parents of graduating teens, quit latching on to them and allow them to live their own lives.

            Signing Off